Forze dell'Oscurità
by Psychic Genius
Summary: He stood in the midst of the dying sun and couldn't help but glance at the charm in his hand, forever a reminder of the friendships of many. He would fight, for them, for the worlds. They were right before- the old man didn't stand a chance. Post KH3D- a vision of what's to come.
1. Prologue: Those Who Hurt

**A/N: **_Soooo…wow. I'm back. Been quite a while. Back to writing Kingdom Hearts for a while. Thank you, Birth by Sleep for renewing my interest. From FFVII to Avatar to KH. Geez, my inspiration patterns need to start making more sense O.O Anywho, this is pretty much my entire theory on what's to come in future games in story form, including whatever sequel there is to BBS, as well as…drumroll…Kingdom Hearts 3! Can't wait for…what year are they saying now? 2015? Sigh. I'm addicted enough to wait. _

_Yes, I know this is the bijillionith KH3 story on the site, but a lot of them are outdated now and I'm on a crazy mission to make it the best you've seen. And I mean it. Because I'm a perfectionist like that. I spent lots of time working out the logistics of this fic and such, so it should be as canon/accurate as possible with the info that's out there now. So of course, bearing that in mind, one should be wary of KH3D SPOILERS! But of course, since this is KH3 we're talking about ;)_

_So all that aside, hope you guys like it! Oh, and don't forget to review! It gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling inside :D_

_P.S. For the first few chapters or so, the different POVs presented WILL NOT take place at the same time. Just thought I should clarify that now. It's fully intentional, done to demonstrate the discrepancies of time in different (ahem) _places_…you'll see what I mean. If they start to coincide after a few chapters, I may or may not note it...I might leave it to you guys to discern that ;) Also, I recommend listening to the BBS version of Dearly Beloved while reading this chapter. I wrote it whilst listening to it and it was awesome :D Yes, it's clichéd. No, I don't care._

_I promise the rest of the A/N for this fic won't be this long -_-_

**Disclaimer: **(_For this chapter and all to follow) Kingdom Hearts is owned primarily by a man who sits on a throne of belts and zippers. And Square Enix/Disney too, I guess. But definitely not me._

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**~Prelude: Those Who Hurt~**

_Thinking of you, wherever you are,_

_We pray for our sorrows to end…_

~.~.~.~.~

The sky gleamed a brilliant shade of pink, the water meeting it seamlessly, glistening under the dying rays of the sun. A rustle picked up every now and again, disturbing giant palm leaves and a mess of spiky brown hair. Everything was silent, save for the occasional seagull cry or the gentle splash of waves. He sat in his usual place atop a certain wayward tree, the bottle gripped tight between his hands, the parchment balanced on top.

_You're the only one that can end their sadness…_

His eyes glanced down at the paper, rereading the message but only half-registering it. He would have to leave as soon as possible. It was an odd feeling, knowing that somewhere in the worlds there were people who were waiting for him, waiting for his help. Flattering, but a bit intimidating. The only reassurance he had was that at least Riku wasn't exempt from it, either.

Destiny had an odd way of toying with him. It was only natural that he would be summoned for another important, potentially life-threatening task.

_Now the door to your next journey is ready to be opened…_

He thought inherently of the old wooden door on the island that housed the Heart of the World, the first door of many- how it had caused everything from the start, and how it had changed their lives forever. How it had once brought about an apocalyptic end to their peaceful island. How little he once knew, and how much he had changed since that fateful day. Looking around their world, watching the tide draw closer and closer to the shore, he couldn't help but wonder…would it ever truly be quiet again?

"Sora!"

His head whipped around at the sound of his name, seeing a familiar figure crossing the bridge behind him. Said figure wore a stoical, yet thoughtful expression, his thoughts probably along the same lines as his own. "Riku," he answered in turn, watching as his friend came to a stop on the sandy ground next to him.

"Your mind's made up?"

**~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.****~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.****~.~**

_Where they wait for him…_

~.~.~.~.~

A world all its own, swallowed by the darkness. An abyss stretching out in all directions, above and below and around every corner. A single path wound its way through the strange land, disappearing in the distance, but never truly ending.

A tired heart wanders down the path, waiting, searching, but never finding. In a world rejected by the light, it is a troubled existence. Sinister hands reach out, drawing the heart closer, beckoning it to give in.

But no. There was a promise. There would _always _be a promise.

One day…there would be light.


	2. Chapter One: Promise of New Beginnings

**A/N: **_Hope you guys liked the prelude! I know it was super short and kinda vague, but I'm pretty sure everyone can figure out what was going on. So now the real story begins! Expect wayyyyy longer chapters from here on out. I don't have an exact number of planned chapters yet, but I think I'm shooting for somewhere between 20-30. Maybe more if I decide to start breaking up chapters to make them (relatively) short. But it's going to be quite a ride, since there's a good number of loose ends to tie up here. As always, feedback is more than welcome! Tell me everything- I promise I wanna hear :D_

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**~Chapter One: Promise of New Beginnings~**

_Starting a new journey may not be so hard…_

_Or maybe it has already begun._

~.~.~.~.~

A pair of oversized shoes clambered noisily down a narrow, rickety staircase, which admittedly had seen its fair share of damage in its lifetime. The most common (and current) assailant: a buoyant teenager with enough energy to forestall an army. The boy in question carried with him an impressive collection of various armors, gauntlets, and other agents of warlike protection. Perhaps what was more impressive was the way he gracefully took three stairs at a time, effortlessly finishing his descent with a showy front-flip and a soft thud on solid ground.

He had spent the past hour in his home in a similar fashion, gathering up anything that he deemed necessary from the depths of the rooms he had left them. Not to mention tracking down anything he shouldn't have lost in the first place. _Way _easier said than done.

He practically barreled into the living room, his cerulean eyes scouring the area for the current object in question. His free hand opened drawers in end tables, picked up the dusty rug in the middle of the room, even lifted couch cushions…no sign of it.

As he went to turn off the lamp in the room and search elsewhere, his hand stopped short of the switch, his gaze falling on an old framed photograph, sitting atop one of his grandmother's hand-knitted doilies as the main focal point of the table. Two of its subjects grinned broadly, a young girl and boy, their arms thrown around each other and the third figure in the photo, a similarly aged boy. Unlike the other two, his arms were crossed against his chest, but upon closer inspection one would see that he had a slight smile on his lips, so small that even he himself probably wasn't aware of it. The girl, a redhead clothed in a simple white and purple dress, was squished between the boys. But despite this, she looked like she was having the time of her life. They were all seated in a brand new, finely crafted canoe, and one of the boys brandished an oar proudly in the air as if it was a sword of legends.

His sixth birthday party…had it really been almost ten years ago? He hadn't felt so old in a while.

But he didn't dwell on that thought for too long- the redhead in the photo only served to remind him of his original task. Seriously, Kairi was gonna _kill him _if he couldn't find it.

With that, he hurried into the adjoining kitchen, searching anew for the important object. He opened cabinets, tore silverware out of their drawers. Nowhere in sight…although maybe that was a good thing, considering where he was looking. But he did come across a misplaced glass, corked bottle of greenish liquid on the island and decided to add it to the growing collection of oddities in his arms. He noticed it wasn't completely full.

He could only pray that his mother hadn't tried using it to make dinner.

Sighing a little, he settled on going back to his room to retrace his steps. It had to be _somewhere…_

Lost in his thoughts as he creaked back up the stairs and into his room, he almost didn't see the person standing in the doorway waiting for him. He stumbled for a second as all of the objects he carried became daringly close to falling to their doom. Luckily, he kept his balance, letting out a breath of relief and pulling his arms tighter to his body. He raised his eyes to meet another pair, an equally bright green with laugh lines creasing their edges and just the slightest touch of mascara framing them.

A hand reached out to steady him and attempted to pluck some of the objects out of his arms as if it was a round of Jenga. "There you are, Sora!" An eyebrow rose, "Didn't I tell you not to go tearing up the house like that…just a few times before?"

He rocked back on his heels for a moment, a sheepish grin appearing on his face even though his mother's voice held no contempt. "Hmm…maybe?" He tried innocently.

She shook her head in defeat, "If I go down there to find that my son ruined my day of hard work…" She trailed off, not finishing the idle threat.

"Honestly, you'd never know I was there!" Sora promised her with a quick, carefree shake of his head. But his grin vanished just as quickly when he saw his mother's eyes grow wide and her expression uncharacteristically somber. "What?" He frowned.

"Nothing. It's nothing!" She reassured him, "Just…don't say things like that, honey." Sora resisted the urge to smack himself for his insensitivity as the reason behind the words dawned on him. Forgetting about her own son's existence had always been a touchy subject for her…but just as soon as the mood came, it left, and Sora decided that he definitely inherited his optimism from her.

Giving him a hasty smile, his mother gently pushed him into his room. "You should finish packing. I've laid out the necessities on your bed."

Sora took in the mass of items scattered across his bed, towering precariously next to the comparatively small group of things he had gathered before on his own. An impractical number of shirts, socks, and pairs of underwear, along with some pants that he wasn't entirely sure still fit him were stacked carefully on one side. Next to them was a collection of odds and ends, from a disposable camera, to the journal that he kept when he was about eight years old (where did she even _find _that?), to…was that a can of his father's shaving cream?

He felt his smooth jawline self-consciously. He honestly didn't think he had to really worry about _that _right now…

"Oh, and Sora?" His mother called, bringing him out of his thoughts, as he hastily dumped the heavy contents from the crook of his arm all over his bed and flexed the muscles in relief. Glancing up, he noticed that she now held a delicate trinket suspended on a chain. "I found this in your pocket. I didn't want it throw it in the wash, so—"

Sora snatched the object out of her hand before she could finish. "_You _had it the whole time?" He asked in disbelief, his eyes as wide as saucers.

She placed her hands on her hips at his display of rudeness, but couldn't suppress a slight chuckle. "Yes, and I was just going to find you when you stampeded up here!" But her voice went unheard, and she noticed that her son was too busy ogling at the star-shaped charm that he held reverently in his hand as if it was a gift from God himself.

"Wouldn't want Kairi to know you almost lost that, right?" She asked with just a hint of mischief, startling him out of whatever daydream he found himself in.

"How did you—" He started, utter surprise and the faintest shade of pink displayed prominently on his face. His mother's knowing smile only grew as she turned to leave. She stopped short at a sudden thought.

"By the way…how exactly are you planning on traveling around the universe?"

His face fell at the question. As strange as it sounded, he really hadn't put that much thought into that. His thoughts tended more towards what would happen _after _he left the islands, not so much about _how _he planned on doing so. A vague memory of _Highwind _entered his mind, but he dismissed it just as quickly, feeling embarrassed for even considering it. The Gummi Ship was definitely a more logical option, but the King hadn't mentioned anything about that in his most recent letter…

"Well…there's always magic from Yen Sid…I think?" He said, thinking out loud.

His mother looked just as unsure as he sounded. "The _what _from _who_?"

Sora shook his hands quickly, wishing the words away. "Nothing, forget it! No worries, I'm sure I'll find a way!" He placated her with a broad grin and all but shoved her out of the room. "I'm gonna get some sleep, so I'll see you in the morning!" Before she could reply, her face practically collided with the solid wooden door.

He leaned against it and slumped to the ground, ignoring his mother's confused protests from the other side. Eventually, she resigned and decided to let her son be, probably thinking he had taken too many hits to the head on his journey and that any sleep he received would be helpful.

He wiped the imaginary sweat from his forehead after a beat of silence. As much as he had told her about his journeys, he never really got around to the technicalities of magic. Especially the completely incomprehensible kind that had sent him into his own dreams, which had eluded even his own full understanding. And there just wasn't the time or patience for all of that now. Even if it was his own mother…there were some things that were best left unstated.

As for his traveling means…well, Riku must have thought of something by now, right? He made a mental note to ask him about it the next day (and maybe bribe him to explain things to his mother, since he seemed to get it better anyway). With one last glance at Oathkeeper, he placed it on his bedside table, unceremoniously pushing the heaps of stuff off his bed so that he could sleep peacefully.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"_Hey, can you hear me?"_

"Who…are you?"

A lighthearted snicker._ "You mean you don't know by now?"_

_BANG!_

Sora yelped, falling out of bed onto the haphazard pile of stuff littering the ground. He groaned, sitting up slowly. "Is it morning already…?"

Blearily looking around, he went to rub his eyes and found the keyblade dutifully attached to his hand. "Huh?" He faltered, dismissing it with a shake and jumping onto the bed, his arms grasping the windowsill as he leaned halfway out. "What's going on?"

He received an answer in the form of a stream of smoke billowing forth from a presumably large object, tainting the dark night sky milky white. Squinting a little and pushing a few of his untamable spikes away, he could just barely perceive the source of it all- a blocky shape and plenty of explicit geometries. Could it be…?

"No way!" He shouted, throwing on the nearest shirt with inhuman speed, taking off out into the hall and nearly tripping down the stairs, not paying any heed to his slumbering family. Or any neighbors, for that matter.

His bare feet carried him down the gravel path of his house, through the lush grass of Riku's front lawn, and across the sandy coast leading to the shore, his soles barely even touching the ground.

The world was a blur around him, the salty breeze whipping his bangs into his face and causing his loose pajama pants to balloon out behind him. The sand he stirred up covered his legs. He didn't care. If it was what he suspected…

After an entirely too long five minutes of running like the wind, he found himself on the outskirts of the main island. The scenery around him came into focus, and he could clearly perceive the bright red body and partly shattered cockpit of a very familiar vessel.

Torn at whether to carefully approach it or start tearing it apart looking for familiar faces, he stood on the periphery stunned with wide eyes for a moment, taking it all in. That was until…

"_WAH_, you big palooka! What were you thinking?" A series of quacks, followed by a shuffling through debris.

"Gawrsh, I'm sorry! I thought you said you wanted me to steer…musta heard ya wrong."

"_No, _I said _steer clear_! Look at this mess! Now we're never gonna find—"

The sources of the voices then rounded the corner, coming into full view. One with ruffled feathers and a look of despair on its face; the other was covered with soot but still bore an upbeat, toothy expression.

When they saw who was facing them, both immediately stopped in their tracks, their eyes going comically wide.

Sora couldn't help with give a light chuckle, crossing his arms against his chest. "Looking for me?"

"_Sora!"_

Before he knew it, he was forcibly knocked to the ground with a _thud_ and strangled by enormous gloved hands and a pair of wings.

In the midst of joyous quacks and ah-yucks, he felt a surge in his heart and a wide grin spread across his face. He didn't realize how much he had missed them until—

Though at the moment, his lungs weren't exactly happy to see them.

"Guys," he choked out. Thankfully, they understood, releasing the death grip on his torso and helping him off the ground.

Brushing the sand off his pants, his eyes flitted over to the Gummi Ship. "So…bit of a crash landing, huh?" He teased his companions, "And perfect timing too! I mean, I was just making myself some cereal—" He got cut off by a certain webbed foot making contact with his kneecap. "Ow!"

"Like you could have done any better," Donald Duck retorted, a playful sneer on his beak.

"Yeah, Sora! 'Member that time when you crashed into a tree in the jungle?" Goofy chimed in with a chuckle, "Or when we got swallowed by a whale? Or—"

"Hey, that was a long time ago! I've gotten a lot better since then! And the jungle thing wasn't even my fault, so—"

"Oh, really? Then how about—"

"_Hey!" _A new voice halted the bantering amongst the trio. They glanced up the hill, catching sight of a familiar teen, standing in a familiar position with his arms drawn to his chest and his silver hair flowing lightly in the breeze. "You guys mind keeping it down? It's not like the whole town's trying to sleep or anything."

Sora just laughed, his whole face lighting up again as he waved his long-time friend over to where they were huddled. Hesitantly, Riku complied, receiving a friendly clap on the shoulder from Goofy and a friendly-enough smile from Donald in greeting.

"I followed the smoke here," he said, giving the ship a few light taps with his knuckles as he surveyed the damage. "Should've known that this is what was causing it. Figures."

"What's _that _supposed to mean?" Donald huffed.

Riku smirked and shook his head. "Nothing. Guess I should be happy we finally have a way off this island. I don't think another Highwind would've cut it." His piercing aquamarine eyes turned to Sora, and Sora honestly couldn't tell if he said the last bit as a joke or to mock him. Given the slightly smug look on his face, it was probably the latter.

Leave it to Riku to read his mind when it was filled with stupid ideas. Granted, Highwind _was _Riku's idea to begin with…

Sora bit back the retort, along with any comments that had to do with Riku being too obsessed with leaving the island. Knowing him, he probably wouldn't take it too kindly.

Up to a point, he could understand where Riku was coming from. When Sora had been younger, he spent nearly all of his time dreaming up all sorts of fantastic worlds, just like Riku- towering castles with a sense of grandeur, with princesses in towers and knights guarding it on all sides. The tallest mountains shrouded in snow, just begging to be climbed. Jungles, with all sorts of creatures and twists and turns that he could lose himself in forever.

Being away from home for almost two years had conditioned him to a life of adventure, far beyond anything he'd imagined before as a kid. He'd seen too much, learned too much to pretend like everything could return to normal now. In fact, he still couldn't shake the memories of the dreams he would have while he was traveling…waking in a cold sweat or wiping water from his eyes, and then realizing he'd dreamt of beaches just like the one he stood on now, the waves carrying him across the distance to the place he knew best.

The irony of the dream reversal was cruel, to some extent.

So of course, when everything was said and done and he had resigned himself to occupying the Dark Realm for the rest of eternity, there was a thrill to being in the ultimate darkness one minute and then subsequently finding himself tumbling through the sky into the cool, refreshing waters of his home.

Seeing Kairi waiting for him on the shore might have had something to do with his happiness that day, too.

That had only been a few months ago. Their Mark of Mastery exams had really only taken a week or so, given that the majority of the exam wasn't even being spent in reality. Retaking it wasn't what he had in mind, but he had at least pulled through in the end. The King and Yen Sid had allowed Sora and Riku a short respite in order for them to catch their breath and let the world catch up to them. And yet, despite everything that he had gone through to achieve the simple goal that was being _home,_ Sora didn't feel at rest, no matter how hard he tried. And considering everything that Riku had been through, he couldn't be much better.

"I mean, this is fixable, right?" Riku asked, bringing Sora out of his thoughts. He had picked up a piece of the exterior of the ship from the ground, eyeing the ship again to see where it had come from.

Donald snatched the piece from his hands, heading toward the entrance of the ship but turned around to say, "It's seen worse."

Before he or Goofy could make another crack at his driving skills, Sora finished his thought, "And every time Chip and Dale fixed it up, no problem! So I'm not worried!" He grinned broadly.

Riku hn'ed in response, turning on his heel and giving a brief wave from behind. "Then on that note, I'm going back to bed."

"Okie dokie! G'night, Riku!" Goofy called, then turning to Sora and continuing, "You should go back home too, Sora. Sorry we woke ya up so late…"

"S'ok," Sora smiled. He stretched his arms above his head and yawned. "But I guess I could use a little more sleep."

After confirming that the ship was acceptable for his companions to stay in for the night (he assumed that showing up at his house with an anthropomorphic dog and duck might warrant some explaining to his parents that could be better handled once the sun rose), he bid them goodbye and trudged back up the beach. He managed to sneak into his house unheard, collapsing in his bed again and finally getting hit with an overdue wave of fatigue.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"_Your mind's made up?"_

"_This world has been connected…tied to the darkness…"_

"_So, your heart won this battle?"_

"_This is real…"_

"_Perhaps it doesn't pay to be too loyal to one's heart…"_

"_You don't look like you're half the hero the others were."_

_Voices…so many voices…_

"_You both…think you can do whatever you want. Well, I'm sick of it."_

"_You're both my best friends…"_

"_Thank you, Namin__é…"_

_Overlapping, faster and faster…_

"_He's leaving you behind. And by the time you catch—"_

"—_have a feeling we are destined to cross paths—"_

"_Somewhere out there, there's this tree—"_

"—_ou, as a friend. Just…put an end to—"_

"_The three of us can never be torn apart."_

_And then, silence._

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

A restless gaze takes in the clouds of darkness surrounding her, always the same, always just as endless.

She couldn't have been there for more than a week or two. So then, why did it feel like…?

One slow, cautious step after another. And another. A keyblade dragged at her side, its metallic hilt plain, but familiar and warm. She hadn't dismissed it in a while…its presence was comforting, in ways she couldn't exactly explain.

The winding path opened up slightly in front of her, revealing a small field of boulders, scattered haphazardly in a messy half circle. They provided a bit of light, streaming from the strange blue veins coursing through them. She decided to take a break…not that she really had a particular destination in mind.

She took a seat on one of them, laying the blade across her lap for the time being. She placed a hand on it reverently, tracing the familiar letter that shaped the end of it.

Being that the scenery was less than interesting and she was plenty acquainted with it by now, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and suddenly her mind was far away from the strange, gloomy abyss, with its strange echoes and creatures of horror.

The sun was bright again, catching the brilliant white marble and golden brass of a magnificent castle. An older man, with a stern air but eyes full of compassion, now held the blade that had just been in her lap. He gave her a warm smile and raised the blade in demonstration, and suddenly light poured in through the colorful stained-glass window high on the wall on the inside of the building. Her vision was blank again…but there were voices now, too…

"_Come on Ven, I thought you were stronger than that!"_

"_That was a cheap shot and you know it, Terra!"_

Slowly, two figures came into focus, in a walled off garden of a mountainous region. One short, with lightning fast blocks and dodges that caused spiky hair to fly every which way; one tall, with lean muscle who moved slower, but more gracefully.

She ran to them, and the clanking of wooden swords grew louder and louder as she approached them. She heard their laughter, blended together in a perfect mixture of carefree, raspy snickers and lower, melodious chuckles.

When they heard her footsteps in the soft grass near them, they stopped and turned to look at her. A boy with a blinding smile, the brightest blue eyes, the messiest blonde hair, and an air of innocence she wished she still had…a handsome young man, with slightly upturned lips and deep cobalt eyes that spoke of a lifelong friendship and trust beyond no other.

She grew closer and closer…once she was within arm's reach, she extended a hand to them.

But they disappeared in wisps, and she flinched at their replacements…another boy, glaring at her with piercing yellow eyes and a dangerous grin through a broken helmet. Alongside him was another man…the same, horrible yellow eyes, the same, sinister smile, with hair that should have been brown. The latter raised an ornate, dark blade to the sky with a smirk before disappearing with the younger boy in a shroud of darkness…

The sky rained down on her, and she saw the beautiful castle in the distance crack into pieces and float away into the sky, the sound earsplitting and all too real. All she could do was watch in horror as she found herself powerless to stop it. Whirlwinds swirled around her and threatened to suck her into the air. She cried out in agony, collapsing on the ground in pain, covering her heart with her hands, shouting into the deafening winds, begging for it all to stop.

She felt a warm, familiar hand on her shoulder, so tangible in comparison to the rest of her vision.

She gasped, opening her eyes and finding herself in the painfully familiar world of darkness again. Touching her shoulder, still feeling what had just felt so real, and hearing the deep voice that accompanied it…

"_Aqua…"_


End file.
